


One-Time Password

by travastila



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, M/M, Multi, other pairings and characters will be added when they're more relevant
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-01
Updated: 2019-12-01
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:34:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21633748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/travastila/pseuds/travastila
Summary: Fire Emblem: Three Houses -- the most popular MMO internationally, and for good reason, with its immersive lore, multitude of classes, and elaborate customization. The game's goal is to unite all of Fódlan and create peace with other nations with the house of your choosing, each with its own plot line and cast of characters.Ferdinand von Aegir was a part of Crimson Flower, a guild aligning itself with the Black Eagles. He and the six other members were some of the highest ranking players in the game. While it was rather silly way to spend his free time, he enjoyed talking to his guild mates and advancing through the story after a long day of work and classes... That was untilheshowed up.
Relationships: Ferdinand von Aegir/Hubert von Vestra
Comments: 2
Kudos: 71





	One-Time Password

**Author's Note:**

> this is the most self indulgent thing i've ever written and i'm ok with that. i hope you enjoy regardless! 
> 
> races / mechanics are loosely based on final fantasy 14. all characters are their post time skip ages / appearances, and they're in college.
> 
> edit: i've rehauled this fic and edited a bunch of portions, consider this a fic patch LOL.....

Ferdinand always made sure to be home by 8:00 pm, sharp. His class schedules and shifts would align as they always did, giving him enough time to enjoy his daily and designated time to relax. With only a couple classes and a relatively easy shift at the bookstore, he was in good spirits, humming himself a holiday tune as he unlocked the door to his apartment. He lived alone in an apartment not far from Garreg Mach University. Although he was not against having roommates, his father was insistent to foot the bill for him and him alone, and it was not worth arguing about. It was a miracle that he was even allowed to work, after all. He shuffled inside, neatly kicking off his shoes by the front door and setting his bag on the couch. He breathed a pleasant sigh, he began his nightly routine, first by drawing himself a warm bath.

He sipped on his favorite tea and let his orange locks drift in the warm, soapy water. Everyone deserved to treat themselves, and he was no exception. The room smelled of lavender from the candle he set out. Before he grew drowsy in the comfort of his bath, he, reluctantly, stepped out and allowed it to drain. With his eyes on the foggy bathroom mirror, he wrapped a red towel around his waist and his hair. He reached out a hand and brushed away the steam from his reflection. Oh my, who allowed him to be _so_ dashing this evening? It was almost a crime! He chuckled to himself and stepped out after drying himself off, strolling to his bedroom. 

He stripped off the longer towel and let it hang on a hook on his door, leaving his hair wrapped up to dry. Silk pajamas smoothly slid over his skin; facial cream sunk into his pale cheeks. Nearly done… Feeling his hair adequately drying, he carefully unwrapped the towel, letting damp strands settle on his shoulders. It would dry in the morning, elegantly so, in fact! Now that was all finished, he sat himself at his desk, pressing the power button at the base of his computer. There was a light roaring of the system coming to life, then the monitor turned on. 

The semester was nearly over, so his assignments grew smaller and smaller in numbers. Which meant that he had more time to indulge himself in his hobby… MMOs. He knew did not look the type (or, at least, that’s why he’s been told), but he enjoyed video games. Not the overly violent types, no, but the ones with story, with purpose, like any fine art should. He stumbled upon this game while mindlessly scrolling through one of his many feeds. 

Fire Emblem: Three Houses. 

It didn’t catch his attention at first, but its persistence in ads did the trick, and he downloaded its free trial. The start of the story was almost overwhelming, and the UI was not what he was used to, but, after a couple months of paid subscriptions, he was hooked. Over time, he even made some friends. The Mystical Songstress, rather, Dorothea was one the first. He met her during his start of the mainline quests, and she offered her help, in exchange to purchasing her some outfits available through microtransactions. Being no stranger to paying for friends, he obliged, and she guided him through the dungeons and quests that gave him trouble. Often times, her girlfriend would join the two, though at odd times of the night. At first, he was certain that he had made a bad impression with her, from her lack of typing in their party chat, but Dorothea reassured that she wasn’t comfortable speaking in English with people she did not know well. 

It wasn’t before long before he was invited into their guild, Crimson Flower. It was named after the title of Eldaridt von Legisver’s theme song, the leader of the Black Eagles. Apparently, the guild master was a big fan of her character, and as she added more members, the name just stuck. 

Speaking of the Crimson Flower… it was about time he checked their Discord server. He opened the application and clicked on the circled icon of Eldaridt fanart, courtesy of Bernadetta, another guild member, then the channel labeled #general. It appeared everyone was online. Now, what was everyone up to… 

> **Ferdinand von Aegir** : Hello, everyone!  
>  **muscleman** : hey dude whats uppppp  
>  **Ferdinand von Aegir** : I am doing quite well, and you?  
>  **muscleman** : it’s all good over here i’m just trying to speedrun a paper rn LOL  
>  **Petra** : Hi.  
>  **💤lind💤** : lllpppppppppppppppppppppppppppp00000000000000000000000000000  
>  **muscleman** : ?  
>  **bernie bear** : i think he fell asleep on his keyboard again… 

Nothing out of the usual, then. That was fine, it was good to have just the company of his fr— 

> **Flame Emperor** : Oh, good, you’re here. I have something I want to tell everyone.

The Flame Emperor, or Edelgard, was the guild leader, and while it wasn’t strange for her to make announcements for planned raid events, it was odd that they all needed to be present for it… 

> **Ferdinand von Aegir** : By all means, go ahead!  
>  **Flame Emperor** : Someone new will be joining us. He is a friend of mine and new to the game. I believe in all of you to be able to aid him. His name is Hubert. He will join shortly. @everyone

Well… alright. The guild was supposed to be a close-knit group of friends, but one more couldn’t hurt. Plus, that would be enough for them to be able to raid without a random person joining or having one person short! How exciting! Edelgard was the designated tank, Linhardt and Dorothea were the healers, and the rest of the guild were DPS. He found himself enjoying the Great Knight class through the majority of his playthrough, but Edelgard proved herself to be the better tank... One day, he would surpass her… but today was not that day, so he settled with Swordmaster. 

> The Shadows just slid into the server.

…How ominous. It seemed Bernadetta thought the same, as she immediately went offline. 

> Petra: Welcome.  
>  **muscleman** : hey  
>  **𝑀𝓎𝓈𝓉𝒾𝒸𝒶𝓁 𝒮𝑜𝓃𝑔𝓈𝓉𝓇𝑒𝓈𝓈** : why, hello!  
>  **Ferdinand von Aegir** : Greetings! It is a pleasure to have you!  
>  **The Shadows** : Hello. While I am here due to Edelgard’s invitation, I promise I will not need any help from any of you.  
>  **Ferdinand von Aegir** : Ah, well, I’m sure none of us would mind, regardless.  
>  **The Shadows** : I insist. Your help, especially, would not benefit me.

_Excuse me?_ He leaned in to squint at the screen, making sure that really was just typed to him. The audacity of a man with the default icon…  


> **Ferdinand von Aegir** : I beg your pardon?  
>  **The Shadows** : Your rotation is sloppy at best, and you have the lowest DPS percentage out of the rest of the group. Both healers do higher damage than you, at times. It is a wonder how you’re still capable of successfully clearing dungeons.  
>  **Petra** : …  
>  **𝑀𝓎𝓈𝓉𝒾𝒸𝒶𝓁 𝒮𝑜𝓃𝑔𝓈𝓉𝓇𝑒𝓈𝓈** : you could’ve worded that better, you know.  
>  **muscleman** : damn chill  
>  **Flame Emperor** : I agree that _everyone_ has room for improvement, but…  
>  **Ferdinand von Aegir** : If I remember correctly, Edelgard said you are a new player, yes?  
>  **The Shadows** : The rotations are simple to memorize. I have already attained maximum level on Black Mage after skipping the lengthy story.  
>  **💤lind💤** : ig50000000999955555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555 555555500000000000000000000000000000000  
>  **Ferdinand von Aegir** : Lengthy? You have missed the best part of the game! I have no idea why you would even play without understanding the lore.  
>  **The Shadows** : I suppose I’d have a similar opinion if I was not good at the combat, or any other aspects. 

Was this really happening? How dare he! Here he was, trying to enjoy himself, and this… this mere stranger was insulting him over a video game! His fingers froze over his keyboard, seconds away from ripping into him with paragraphs upon paragraphs… but he stopped himself. He would not stoop to his level; he was Ferdinand von Aegir. As much as he wanted to respond with bitter words and insults… he knew better. 

> **Ferdinand von Aegir** : Goodnight.

He turned off his computer, huffing. So much for a pleasant night. He left his phone charging on his bedside table, not in the mood to speak with anyone else, instead crawling into bed, aggressively pulling his blankets over him. Squeezing his eyes shut, he hoped for a better sleep, at least. This would be a problem for a future Ferdinand. 

* * *

He did not get a better sleep. He went to bed earlier than he was used to and was groggy from the extra hours. At least it was a Saturday. He licked at his dry lips and sat up to stretch, brushing the hair that fell in front of his eyes. Groaning, he reached over for his phone, and thumbed it on. 22 DM notifications, likely from the guild. His friends were still so truly kind… One each from Linhardt, Petra and Bernadetta, three from Edelgard, five from Dorothea, ten from Caspar and… one from the shadows himself.

“So… why did you call me here, again?”

“Linhardt, I _told_ you this already! I need your assistance. I do not believe I can do this on my own…” 

The dreaded DM. It had been on his mind all day. Everyone else in the guild was concerned over his sudden departure. Caspar even offered to teach him wrestling moves in the chance the two ever met in person (which he politely declined, as the possibility was highly unlikely). But _Hubert_ … he hadn’t even checked the message, the red “1” taunting him as if he was a raging bull. 

The two sat across from each other in Ferdinand’s happy place, Café Seiren. They _always_ had the most splendid tea and, miraculously, even their coffee suited his tastes, only the sweeter ones, of course. The atmosphere was to die for, with the warming candles and soft acoustics, a nice place to hide away from the bitter cold. 

Ferdinand was donned in a bronze trench coat with a honey fleece scarf wrapped around his neck, his casual wear. Linhardt was also in his own casual wear, his dark sweatpants and an oversized Spiderman shirt that he borrowed from Caspar, hair pulled into a messy bun. 

“You are the closest ally I have, though I know you were asleep through most of it…” 

“Oh… about that…” Linhardt tapped his fingers against the wooden table, pausing to yawn. “I wasn’t asleep. I just keysmashed so no one would bother me about it. You know that I don’t care for drama.” Ferdinand knew that was not true in the slightest. Linhardt always listened in for drama he wasn’t a part of, but he kept quiet. 

“I—” 

“Before you get mad, I will let you know that I have a plan.” 

“Oh, please, do tell!” Ferdinand noticeably brightened up at that, leaning in. 

“Just answer it.” 

And now he was frowning again, even crossing his arms and turning his head away. 

“What’s the worst that could happen? You guys fight, and he gets kicked out? Wasn’t it said that if he caused too many problems, our gracious guild leader would get rid of him?” 

“Yes, but—” 

A slender gloved hand interrupted them, setting down a warm cup of earl grey in front of Ferdinand. Oh, this stupid thing could wait when _he_ was in his sights… Standing tall, dark hair perfectly framing his smooth features, movements ever so graceful… He’s had his eyes on this barista ever since he discovered the place. The food was lovely, yes, but… this tall glass of water was just the bonus he needed right now, a little eye candy for his sour day. The barista must have said something, because he was staring at Ferdinand expectantly, his pale green eye boring into him. 

“Oh— ah, thank you!” He pulled the beautiful glassware closer to him, flashing him a bright smile. 

The employee bowed his head, and, finally, Ferdinand got a look at his nametag, usually too caught up in the other’s beauty to take notice of it. Vestra… He will remember that. Vestra then left, and Ferdinand was enjoying seeing him go, with his long, elegant legs and thin waist. He would be a lovely figure skater, and a lovelier— 

“ _Ahem._ ” Linhardt snapped his fingers in front of his face. “Earth to Ferdinand.” 

“...Apologies. Vestra has distracted me, once again…” 

“Have you even spoken to him yet?” Linhardt reached over to snag a few of Ferdinand’s sugar packets, opening them and downing their contents into his mouth. Ferdinand was horrified, to say the least, but he ignored it, for the sake of the conversation. 

“...No, and I am doubtful we will! I have no idea what we would speak about, but, regardless, that is not the issue! I… do not want to admit it, but I believe you are right. I will just have to confront him myself. Wish me luck, will you?” 

“Of course. Let me know if he gives you any trouble, I’ll tell Caspar to namedrop the guy on his stream. The twelve-year olds will go _wild_.” Ferdinand chuckled and took a sip of his tea, humming at the taste. Perfect, as always. 

* * *

…Even after all that, he still hadn’t opened it. He laid on his bed, holding his phone above his head. He stared and stared, the grey Discord DM list staring back. He hoped that, somehow, his phone would just delete it or something—… And he dropped it, his hands too sweaty to keep a firm grip. It fell right on his face which _hurt_ , and his nose was somehow able to click on Hubert’s default icon. No going back now. He whined to himself at the dull pain and glanced over the message. 

> **The Shadows** : I apologize for my rudeness yesterday. What I said was only meant for jest, though it did not come across that way. Truthfully, I find you one of the more qualified members in the guild, and it was my own fault for getting us off on the wrong start. If you would so have me, I would be glad to have you guide me through the game. There are still a few things that I do not understand.

Of course, that was the only explanation! Hubert’s nerves got the best of him, and he just told a bad joke! What was he worrying over, and why hadn’t he come to that conclusion beforehand? Things would be fine. With the dumbest grin on his face, he hurriedly typed his reply. 

> **Ferdinand von Aegir** : I accept your apology! It is quite alright, I understand being nervous in front of someone you admire. You are all forgiven, my friend. If you are free tomorrow, we could go through some mechanics you do not grasp yet. What is your name in game?  
>  **The Shadows** : Marquis Gaumaire.  
>  **Ferdinand von Aegir** : Wonderful! Mine is Derrick Fearon. I will add you as soon as I can. I hope to get to know you well, Hubert.  
>  **The Shadows** : Likewise.

* * *

“…It worked. He forgave me. What a _simpleton_.” Hubert rolled his eyes, setting his phone down on the kitchen table. 

Edelgard just shook her head and laughed. She took his phone and read through their messages with a satisfied grin, tapping the last message with her nail in triumph. She placed it back down, settling her hands on her laptop keyboard, typing away without sparing a glance at the keys. 

“I told you, if you praise him and ask for his help, he’ll forget all about it. Being simple isn’t always a bad thing, you know. Although… I _do_ wish for you two to get along, in time. How are you to enjoy yourself otherwise?” 

“Believe me, I am only doing this for you. I still do not understand why you didn’t ask your partner to join, instead.” He shed off his dark work apron and threw it onto a vacant chair, stumbling around the kitchen for something to soothe his growing headache. 

“She’s busy, and, plus, you need hobbies and _friends_.” 

“But we—” 

“I know what you’re going to say, _yes_ , we are friends, and we have known each other for so long! So I know how you are, and you are not getting out of this so easily. I’m only asking you to at least try. If things don’t go well, that is fine, but _try_.” 

He didn’t say anymore. His phone lit up with another notification from Ferdinand, and he, begrudgingly, answered it after taking a much needed Tylenol, doused in a swallow of black coffee.

> **Derrick Fearon** : Where is he? He was supposed to be here thirty minutes ago.  
>  **Caspar Muscleman** : i can’t stay much longer i have to stream in an hour so he better hurry up  
>  **Mystical Songstress** : i’m thinking we’ve been stood up. ugh

_Ugh_ was right. Dorothea and Caspar were kind enough to volunteer to fill the party for Hubert’s first training session, but the man of the hour hadn’t popped online nor sent a Discord message stating his lateness! Ferdinand ground his teeth together in irritation, glaring at his monitor. 

Currently, their party was composed of Ferdinand being a Great Knight, Caspar a Monk, and Dorothea a Priestess. The latter two were their main classes, but Ferdinand chose to experiment tanking again, both to surpass Edelgard and to prove Hubert of his strength— Speak of the devil, and he shall appear. 

> _Marquis Gaumaire is online._

Ferdinand rolled his eyes and invited him to their party, which he quickly accepted. 

> **Derrick Fearon** : What took you so long? We have been waiting for half an hour!  
>  **Marquis Gaumaire** : I apologize. My cat was causing some trouble.  
>  **Mystical Songstress** : you have a cat? cute! send a pic in the gc later  
>  **Marquis Gaumaire** : I shall decline to do so.  
>  **Mystical Songstress** : your cat is probably as grouchy as you so never mind.  
>  **Caspar Muscleman** : bruh  
>  **Derrick Fearon** : Enough of the feline! If we are to do this, we need to do it now.  
>  **Marquis Gaumaire** : You are the party leader, choose something. 

Fine, he will! In fact, he already had a dungeon in mind. Hubert mentioned he only was high-leveled due to skipping his way through, so he _must_ not remember any mechanics, especially those of high-level dungeons. He would look like an utter fool! That will show him who’s boss. He pressed a key to bring up the dungeon selection screen and scrolled until he found it—Grondor, notorious for its length, difficulty, and being the dungeon to lead to showcase the heroic events of Frederick von Meer, his favorite character, in a cutscene prior to unlocking it. He selected the dungeon to queue, and the rest of his party members promptly readied up. 

The party soon loaded into the start of the dungeon, a field turned battleground. Ferdinand glanced over at the rest of his party. His character was a tall elf with long, luscious orange hair complimented with armor of a striking blue and red color scheme. Dorothea was a Taguel with curled brown ears, matching her long hair, and a stunning scarlet dress. Caspar’s… was just Caspar, a human that looked exactly like the man behind the keys. And then there was Hubert’s, a _taller_ elf with long, flowing black robes, gaudy purple staff, and simple glasses pierced on his nose (which looked absolutely stupid with the character’s hair covering one of his eyes). 

Regardless of Hubert’s horrid choice of outfit, he would not judge, as it was _skill_ that truly mattered. 

> **Derrick Fearon** : My friends, let us get started! 

* * *

> **Derrick Fearon** : That was horrific!  
>  **Marquis Gaumaire** : I must thank you for that.  
>  **Caspar Muscleman** : i gtg  
>  _Caspar Muscleman is now offline._  
>  **Derrick Fearon** : Thank me? More like thank you! All you did was cast spells in the same spot and told Dorothea to ‘adjust’, even though you clearly did not understand how Mitya’s mechanics functioned! You were hit by practically everything! We had to do the last boss six times!  
>  **Mystical Songstress** : what a coincidence, me too!  
>  _Mystical Songstress is now offline._  
>  **Marquis Gaumaire** : That is how the class functions. Do not criticize my play style while your own is a mess. I kept getting agro from our enemies. You were not doing your job.  
>  **Derrick Fearon** : I was doing just fine, you know! It is not my fault if you keep pulling adds without waiting for the party! In fact, I could go to extreme lengths on how much of a pain you were!  
>  **Marquis Gaumaire** : Enough. I’ve grown tired of this. I have work. Goodbye.  
>  _Marquis Gaumaire is now offline._

Ferdinand groaned, hastily exiting the game and putting his face in his hands. This was truly hopeless. If this kept on, he was going to end up quitting. He took a deep breath and got up, throwing on some more refined clothes. 

He needed a drink. 

* * *

And a drink he received, seated at his usual spot at Café Seiron, a firm frown as he sipped down its contents. He tapped his foot against the tiled floor and sighed, setting the cup down.

“…My, my. A sour face does not suit you. Is the tea not to your liking?” 

Ferdinand tilted his head, rewarded with the angelic sight of Vestra with the slightest upward curl of his lips. He was stunned. Was this really happening? Vestra was trying to _speak_ with him? Before his brain was overloaded with images of the barista’s faint smile, he gulped, then spoke. “No, no, the tea was delightful, as always…!” 

“Hmm.” Vestra raised a finger to his lips. His black nail tapping against his bottom lip. “Then, I must ask, is there a problem elsewhere? It is unlike you to look so gloomy.” 

Ah? Did he hear that right? Vestra… paid attention to him? He wasn’t sure what to do with this knowledge. With that, it must be obvious he is attracted to the other man, with his constant glances and blushes. How embarrassing— He planned to be more charming than this! He swallowed again, chuckling nervously. “I doubt you would be interested in _that_ —” 

“And if I am?” 

Ferdinand blinked, growing more dumbfounded by the second. His nervous laughter continued, though he cut himself off as Vestra took the empty seat in front of him. 

“I _insist_. Tell me of your troubles. It is only fair in exchange for the large tips you leave me after your visits. I am on break, as well. I’ll indulge you for…” He glanced over at a nearby clock. “Five minutes. Does that sound fair?” 

Ferdinand was going to die. He knew that, and he was fine with it. His heart was pounding in his chest as he frantically nodded. To calm his nerves, he took a sip of his tea, though he nearly spilt it all over himself with his shaky hands. 

“W-well… I am having relationship troubles— Not romantically, of course! Just… there is someone that has _invaded_ my long-time friend group, and he is so, so impossible to get along with! He always has to say something rude to me, even though I do not deserve it! I find myself forced to retaliate, as much as it goes against my ideals. He is an excruciating pain in my side, but I feel as if I ask for him to leave, I lose this battle between us.” 

Vestra leaned back in his chair, though maintaining eye contact with Ferdinand still. “Mm. I see.” A hand reached forward to neatly pull one of Ferdinand’s napkins closer to him, the other reaching into his back pocket for a pen, spinning it between his lithe fingers before uncapping it and writing neatly against the material. “You cannot beat fire with fire. Instead of adding coal to the flame, you subdue the heat with words as smooth as water. Do you understand what I am saying?” He slid the napkin forward, Ferdinand’s eyes following it like a moth to said flame. 

What was written on it had Ferdinand audibly gasping, quickly covering his mouth to subdue the noise. He looked back and forth between the napkin and Vestra’s amused gaze. “I— er… what is this?” 

“My number. I’m afraid my time with you here has ended, but feel free to give me a call. I may be able to aid you in your troubles, as a companion.” With that, Vestra stood up from the chair, giving the other man a quick wink before strolling to the back of the café. 

Ferdinand left sixty dollars for a seven-dollar bill. 

* * *

_DM from Get Ferdie a BF 2K20._

> **💤lind💤** : are you serious  
>  **𝑀𝓎𝓈𝓉𝒾𝒸𝒶𝓁 𝒮𝑜𝓃𝑔𝓈𝓉𝓇𝑒𝓈𝓈** : oh my god i’m so proud of you! have you texted him yet?  
>  **Petra** : He seems nice.  
>  **Ferdinand von Aegir** : I will text him! But I am so very nervous. What if I say something embarrassing?  
>  **💤lind💤** : you kind of already did so i wouldn’t worry about it lmao  
>  **Petra** : Tell him that you were happy to talk him! 😊 It will warm his heart.  
>  **𝑀𝓎𝓈𝓉𝒾𝒸𝒶𝓁 𝒮𝑜𝓃𝑔𝓈𝓉𝓇𝑒𝓈𝓈** : yes exactly! just be HONEST ferdie

Ah, but that was easier said than done. He had Vestra’s contact already added, but it was so nerve wracking to think about starting the conversation. What would they talk about? What if they had absolutely nothing in common? 

Regardless of the worries swirling in his head, he slowly typed up a text… 

* * *

“It has been three hours. He must despise me. I was too forward—” Hubert tossed his head back against the couch, exhaling a deep sigh.

“…I’ve never seen you this worked up before.” Edelgard threw an unpopped kernel at him. 

“Enough. I took a chance, like you advised, but I am certain he won’t step foot there again. We barely know each other, and I gave him my _number_. I am not usually this thoughtlessly impulsive. What am I to do now?” 

“You’re so dramatic. He could just be busy, you know.” She threw another, aiming for his nose. “I’m hurt that you kept this crush a secret from me.” 

“It is _not_ a crush, just… a friendly admiration.” 

“Friendly admiration or otherwise, I would have liked to know!” She turned back to movie in front of her. It was a horror movie that Byleth recommended, but it was so strange and hard to follow… Obviously not her taste, but she didn’t mind putting up with it to see her girlfriend’s smile when she mentioned she watched it. 

Hubert rose from the couch, ready to retire for the night, but his back pocket vibrated. He had never whipped out his phone so fast in his entire life. His eyes desperately scanned at the unknown number’s message. 

  
_( Hello! I am the frequent customer you gave your number to, and I just wanted to tell you what a pleasure it was to finally speak to you. To be quite honest, I have had my eye on you for some time, as a potential friend, of course, so this is a dream come true. I am not sure if you are still awake, but if so, goodnight, I will speak with you tomorrow. )_

  


“Oh no. He is _charming_.” Another kernel bounced off his cheek. Oh. He should go to his room for this. He didn’t need to hear any further teasing from Edelgard. He moved as fast as his legs could take him to the quiet and safety of his room. He kicked his shoes off before practically jumping into bed, his nimble thumbs tapping at the device’s keyboard. 

_[ I am still awake. I must say, I had not noticed your gaze, but I am glad that we had the same thing in mind. In all of our chatting, I forgot to ask you for your name. ] ___

_  
_  
_   
_

_( I shame myself for being so cowardly to not approach you first, but I simply had no idea what to do. Please forgive me. My name is Ferdinand! ) ___

__  
__  


Hubert grimaced. What a joy, the man that got on his nerves and the man he… _platonically admired_ shared the same name. No matter, it wasn’t _that_ much of a turnoff. 

_[ I forgive you, though I take no offense. As much as I would like to talk to you more, I have an early shift. Perhaps we could meet afterwards to get to know each other, around 2 o’clock. There are some shops I need to stop by near the café. ]_

_( I would love that, Vestra. Goodnight. I will see you tomorrow. 💖)_

  


Hubert nearly threw his phone at reading that cursed heart emoji. They had barely spoken, and he was already so enamored? He must be sick. Horrifically so. Though, something in his heart made him yearn to not be cured. In any case, he needed his sleep, and he assumed Ferdie did, too… He closed his heavy eyes and slept with the same faint smile. Miraculous, as this was the first night in weeks that he went straight to bed without a heavy dose of Melatonin.


End file.
